Overview

An illuminating and moving portrait of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, in her later years after the Duke's death. The true story behind the film The Duchess and I, starring Isabella Rosselini and Joan Collins Acclaimed biographer Hugo Vickers holds an encyclopedic knowledge of the Royal Family, but his his fascination with the Duchess of Windsor runs deeper, going back to his own youth. Long misunderstood, the Duchess of Windsor and her story has both fascinated and polarized. While there have been many books the doomed couple, Behind Closed Doors brings a new perspective to Wallis specifically by focusing on the later years of exile. While Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself--and he makes it very clear that Wallis did not lure the King from the throne--the drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an old sick woman after the death of her husband. Readers will be shocked by the ruthless French lawyer known as Suzanne Blum and come to understand how the Duchess's precarious position once she was widowed only added to her plight. Her once-glamorous life quickly spiralled into one of desperation and fear. Using previously unpublished papers and other personal testaments, Hugo Vickers paints a resonant portrait of a complex and tragic icon and reveals the truth behind her final years.

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Reviews

""A devastating account of the last years of the Duchess of Windsor. In likening Maître Blum in style to Gertrude Stein, Hugo Vickers gave me a clue to her character. Behind Closed Doors is filled with many more such revelations.""-- ""Isabella Rossellini"" ""A definitively brilliant history of the whole story."" -- ""A.N. Wilson, The Evening Standard"" ""A page turner. Hugo Vickers' compelling account makes one feel that Wallis did the Queen a favor."" -- ""Literary Review"" ""With a lifetime's interest in the subject, Vickers knows everything there is to know about the Windsors. The first half of Behind Closed Doors, as well as being an accumulation of evidence against Blum, is the story of a personal journey into the world of the Windsors. It is also a hugely entertaining account of the battle between biographers for ownership of their subject .The book's second half is a biography of Wallis Simpson. Vickers delves into her family tree with his accustomed detail.""-- ""The Telegraph""

Author Information

Hugo Vickers is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an acknowledged expert on the British Royal Family. He has written biographies of the Queen Mother, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, and Princess Andrew of Greece. His book The Kiss won the Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction and his recent bestsellers have included The Quest For Queen Mary and The Sphinx, the life of Gladys, the Duchess of Marlborough. His most recent book is Malice in Wonderland, also available from Pegasus Books.

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